Chapter 144: Crewmates Gather, Battle Against Zombie Generals
Boom!!
A massive ball of fire exploded and expanded, the terrifying flames instantly filling the entire corridor.
Nami, fighting in the courtyard, subconsciously looked over. She saw a thick pillar of orange-red fire, intertwined with violent energy, gushing out from the corridor exit.
The few zombies at the entrance were instantly engulfed. The green lawn turned into a charred wasteland in an instant, and a heatwave mercilessly swept through, burning everything to ashes.
Then, the flames seemed to part as if alive, and two silhouettes, one tall and one short, emerged from within.
Reiner, blond and in a blue shirt, slowly walked out of the sea of fire. A white serpent coiled around him, forming a circle, swallowing its own tail. Three tomoe drums stood above his head and on his left and right shoulders.
"It's the Ouroboros Ring!"
Usopp immediately became excited upon seeing Reiner's appearance. The powerful figure fighting in this state back on Enies Lobby was still vivid in his mind.
A cluster of flames ignited out of thin air at Chopper's feet. The next moment, the flames, like a long serpent, spiraled outwards from him, spreading across the ground.
The fire serpent wound around Nami and Usopp, quickly filling the entire courtyard, and a raging wall of fire surrounded all the zombies.
"So hot, so hot!"
"There's nowhere to run!"
"It's that man!"
The zombies trapped in the sea of fire looked around in panic. The heatwave made the air heavy, and all sights seemed to be distorted by the flames as they peered through the fire at the blurry figure in the distance.
The tomoe drum on Reiner's left shoulder glowed red. The dancing, leaping sea of fire in the area moved without wind, rapidly swirling in a spiral direction.
"Flame Commandment: Desolate Purgatory!"
Like violent ripples spreading across a calm water surface, countless flame ripples rapidly diffused from the center.
Streaks of flame rolled up intense wind pressure, carrying terrifyingly high temperatures as they冲击 out, burning everything in their path to cinders.
"Aooo!!"
"Roar!!"
Amidst a chorus of mournful howls, the earth was instantly transformed into scorched land, and a large number of zombies were swept away in an instant.
The entire area instantly became a purgatory-like scene, a black and red wasteland with scattered flames still burning.
The green lawn that had originally filled the courtyard was now barren, without a blade of grass.
Only a few massive figures of Zombie Generals, wreathed in flames, remained, scurrying around like raging infernos.
"Great!"
Usopp shouted excitedly, "Fire can counter these zombies! Burned like this all over, even General-level ones will definitely..."
Sizzle!!
Before he could finish, he saw several Zombie Generals holding buckets, lifting them over their heads, and pouring the contents down, instantly extinguishing the flames on their bodies!
"—Phew! Nearly burned to death."
"They can do that?!!"
Usopp was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.
Even Reiner was a bit speechless. Why resort to such tactics in the middle of a serious fight?
The main point was, it actually worked!!
Are you guys freedom fighters too?!
Boom!!
At this moment, the group of Zombie Generals from the corridor behind them also chased out.
The two groups converged. The miscellaneous zombies had all been cleared, and only seven or eight General-level zombies remained.
Reiner's group of four stood together, ready for battle. Opposite them, the Zombie Generals lined up. Only now did they have a chance to properly observe their opponents.
A silver-haired zombie stood casually, holding a wine bottle and taking a swig.
A cool-looking gunman in a black trench coat with four arms; just by standing there, one could feel the murderous aura emanating from him.
The tall, long-bearded general in golden armor who had been sent flying by Reiner's punch earlier.
A knight in silver armor with steel claws on his arms, a bare-chested man carrying a large executioner's sword on his back...
"These guys look really strong just from their appearance."
Usopp frowned. Having been at sea for a while and experienced some battles, he knew that some opponents could exude a powerful sense of oppression just from their looks. Clearly, there were many such figures among these zombies.
Fortunately, their fighting skills and moves depended on the shadows stuffed into them. Otherwise, just seeing a few of these guys would have made him lose the will to fight.
Reiner scanned the group. He didn't see Ryuma's figure. Only Captain John caught his attention.
"Foss! Foss! Foss!"
Behind the zombies, a man with a body shaped like a wine glass let out a sinister laugh.
Hogback, wearing small round sunglasses, looked at them, baring his snow-white sharp teeth, "These Zombie Generals were all renowned powerhouses on the seas when they were alive!"
"There are knight commanders from powerful nations, famous pirates known far and wide, notorious criminals, and these few here are the elite among the Zombie Generals!"
Several of them were found by Lord Moria with great difficulty – legendary pirates who had long since disappeared, former crew members of the Rocks Pirates.
Combined with these powerful bodies that feel no pain and can fight until death...
Hogback's face turned ferocious. "Two of your comrades have already been captured by us! Today, all of you will stay here too, Straw Hat Pirates!"
"How is that possible!"
Hearing this, Nami was instantly shocked and exclaimed in a low voice, "Their strength is so great! How could they be easily captured by these zombies? Stop lying!"
Although these zombies before them were strong, they weren't that exaggeratedly so. With Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro around, it shouldn't have been difficult for them to deal with such opponents.
"Although it did take some effort, still, don't underestimate us! Zombie Generals, take them down!"
An angry shout came from an unseen location, and all the zombies instantly charged forward in a rush!
"Jumping Point!"
Chopper, having eaten a Rumble Ball, his legs becoming elongated, charged towards the golden-armored zombie.
Tapping the ground with his toes, he sidestepped the swinging greatsword, the veins on his muscular arms bulging.
"Arm Point: Kokutei - Sakura!"
Chopper brought his hands together, gathering power, and just as the opponent's heavy shield slammed down, his engraved hoof struck it fiercely!
Bang!!
A dull impact sounded, and a strong shockwave spread out, blowing away the rubble on the ground.
The steel-hard engraved hoof actually shattered a piece of the opponent's shield, and several cracks spread across it.
"I don't believe Luffy and the others would be defeated by you!"
Chopper roared angrily, leaping into the air and delivering a roundhouse kick to knock away the shield. He then brought his hooves together and struck the zombie's left shoulder again.
"Kokutei - Cross!"
Bang!!
All his strength concentrated in his hooves, the powerful blow landed heavily. The golden-armored zombie's massive body was sent tumbling backward by the immense force.
However, the opponent seemed completely unaffected, simultaneously swinging his greatsword at Chopper.
Clang—!
Sparks flew from the hard hooves. Chopper was sent flying backward, did a couple of flips in mid-air, and landed steadily, his expression grave.
"These guys are so troublesome. They fight recklessly without fear of death, while we have to constantly watch out for their moves. Even if we hit them, it's hard to make them lose their fighting ability."
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Rapid gunshots rang out almost simultaneously. The man in the trench coat pulled the trigger while moving around.
The group dodged in time, bullets whizzing past their bodies. At the same time, the other zombies reached them.
Bang!!!
Reiner puffed out his chest, bent his arm, and slammed a heavy punch onto the ground beneath him. The invisible air vibrated, creating a shockwave that rippled outwards!
Rumble!!
The ground seemed to ripple. Huge chunks of earth rose up, and the entire area instantly shattered. The zombies on it stumbled, struggling to maintain their balance.
Nami, swift as lightning, took the opportunity to fly in front of a knight wearing steel claws. Lightning enveloped her Clima-Tact as she swung it at the neck beneath his helmet!
"One!"
Clank!
The unsteady knight couldn't react in time. The thunder blade flashed past, sending a head flying.
Several giant blades of fire slashed down. By the time the few Zombie Generals stabilized themselves, they found that they were surrounded by a wall of fire.
A huge nine-square grid of fire enveloped the entire area, separating the Zombie Generals.
"Sure-kill Fire Star! Leave this one to me!"
Usopp shouted, his gaze locked tightly on the four-pistol-wielding man in the trench coat. "It won't do if everyone is distracted by a sniper during the fight."
"Be careful, he's quite strong."
Reiner glanced over and reminded him. Turning back, two bolts of lightning instantly shot out from the drums above his head, striking Hogback and an empty, unoccupied area respectively.
Zzzzt!!
"Ah!!"
Two howls of pain sounded simultaneously. A figure appeared out of thin air on the empty ground.
Absalom lay on the ground, charred black and smoking, gritting his teeth as he looked at Reiner. "This guy, was that a coincidence?"
Crackle! Crackle!
"Ah!!"
Before his astonished eyes, several more blue bolts of lightning tore through space and struck down. Absalom's body flickered with electricity, repeatedly showing a skeletal form.
"You... bastard! Kill him for me!"
A bare-chested zombie with well-defined muscles, dragging a large executioner's sword that sparked against the ground, rushed towards Reiner and leaped forcefully.
"Let me challenge you, Guillotine!"
The greatsword zombie let out a low shout, his body spinning a few times with the blade before swinging it out violently. A red slash flew rapidly towards Reiner.
"A flying slash attack?"
Bang!!
Reiner drew his bone chain-sword and whipped it out, deflecting the attack. The slashes collided and exploded in mid-air. His chain-sword also suffered several cracks, and he couldn't help but glance down at it.
"The power is decent. These guys do have some strength."
He only remembered Ryuma using a flying slash attack, and that was with Brook's shadow. Brook himself didn't seem capable of it.
This was a bit interesting. Reiner couldn't help but take a closer look at these zombies. Unfortunately, he didn't understand swordsmanship well enough to analyze much.
"Hey! You guys are here!" Just then, a clear shout came from the distance.
Reiner turned to look. It was Franky running over, followed by Brook and Robin.
"Robin! Great, you guys are okay!"
Nami called out upon seeing them. Then she noticed there were only three of them, and a sense of foreboding crept into her heart. She hurriedly asked:
"Where are Zoro and Sanji? Weren't they in your group?"
"Brook said they might have been sent back to the ship! Strong Right!"
Bang!
Franky took off his skin glove and sent a zombie flying with his iron fist while running and shouting:
"Sanji got separated from us during a fight just now! After entering the castle, Zoro disappeared mysteriously, probably caught in a trap."
"Zoro... sigh, never mind. How could Sanji get caught so easily?" Reiner was puzzled. With just these General Zombies, their group shouldn't have been outmatched.
"We encountered some very strange ghosts!"
The three finally ran up to him. Robin said with a grave expression, "The opponent is probably some kind of ability user. The moment you touch them, you become incredibly depressed."
"There are so many Zombie Generals here again, yohohohoho~~."
Brook drew his rapier and knocked back a zombie, then turned to reassure them:
"However, please don't worry, everyone. What Moria wants are your shadows. If the original body dies, the shadow will disappear too. So, the enemy won't kill your comrades."
"I know that much."
Reiner was puzzled. "But, you said they might have been sent back to the ship?"
"Yes. To prevent the original owners of the shadows from coming to reclaim them, Moria throws the people back outside. There are many spider-mice on the island. If we encounter them, we might be able to intercept them," Brook explained.
Reiner was even more confused after hearing this. If he wanted to prevent them from reclaiming their shadows, why not lock them up? If he threw them outside, wouldn't they find their way back like Brook did?
Never mind.
"The spider-mice you mentioned, are those them?"
Reiner pointed upwards. Several strands of spider silk were stretched tautly between two buildings of the castle, and a few spiders with rat heads were dragging two coffins across them.
"That's right! Those are them!"
Brook recognized them at a glance. He looked up, staring at the two coffins, and shouted urgently,
"Intercept them! Your comrades are very likely inside those!"
"Watch this! Weapons Left!"
Franky immediately opened his left palm, revealing the dark cannon muzzle inside. After aiming with the sight on his palm, a cannonball shot out instantly.
Boom!!
A violent explosion occurred in mid-air. Flames mixed with thick smoke rose, and two coffins flew out from within.
A large amount of sand surged from the drum on Reiner's right shoulder, transforming into a pair of brown, large hands that caught them and placed them on the ground. Opening the coffins, it was indeed Zoro and Sanji, tied up inside!
"Hey, you two! Are you okay? Wake up, quickly!" Franky grabbed the two and shook them repeatedly.
Brook reached out to stop him. "It's no use. Normally, when a shadow is cut, the person falls into a two-day coma. They must have just had theirs—"
Before he could finish, Zoro and Sanji propped themselves up with one hand, holding their heads.
The two shook their heads, looking confused, clearly still not fully awake.
"Hiss~, my head hurts. Where is this?"
Sanji rubbed his temples and suddenly exclaimed, "Wait a minute, I think I remember a fat guy!"
"Me too! My shadow was cut! That bastard!" Zoro gritted his teeth, subconsciously looking down at the swords at his waist.
Then he looked up and around again, noticing several familiar figures surrounding him. Zoro felt a bit bewildered and said calmly, with a neutral expression:
"So you were all here. I couldn't find you guys at all."
"Who was looking for whom, huh?!"
Several of them bared their teeth and cursed, "You're being a bit shameless, bastard!!"
"Let's not talk about this for now. Let's deal with the enemies here first."
Reiner looked up into the distance. Several figures were running over to reinforce the enemy. "It seems some very strong zombies have arrived."
(End of chapter)
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